Microcosmic Art: Famous Paintings from Tiny Drawings

Most artists would not dare attempt to recreate timeless works of art such as the Mona Lisa. Sagaki Keita, however, is not most artists. His incredible recreations of classic art are impressive when you first see them but absolutely mind-blowing when you take a closer look. These awesome works are not just simple straight-on reproductions of famous art pieces; they are composed of thousands of teeny-tiny other images.

Taking a close look at Keita’s art reveals that every image is composed of tons of simple cartoon-like doodles. Every tiny picture is like a work of art on its own, but when combined they come together to represent the light and dark shades of the overall image. Not every piece is an homage to a famous work of art; Keita creates plenty of originals as well. (Click each image for a larger version.)

Each of the tiny images uses a specific balance of shades and shapes that contribute perfectly to the bigger picture. The smaller pictures are sometimes goofy, sometimes sinister, but always perfectly rendered.

It boggles the mind to consider how Keita composes the larger image by combining all of the smaller images in a precise pattern and a carefully considered structure. The whimsical nature of the small pictures belies the amount of care and thought that has to go into arranging them in just the right way to form the bigger picture.

Sagaki Keita lives in Tokyo and composes his illustrations entirely in pen and ink. His signature combination of small, fun drawings and the fine-art overall pictures is a delicious slice of creativity.